Wand for use in playing a dexterity game



June 2, 197 0 J. R. PRICE 3,514,898

WAND FOR USE IN PLAYING A DEXTERITY GAME Filea March 13, .1958

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JOHN ROY PRICE INVENTOR BY Emma 06 m HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,514,898 WAND FOR USE IN PLAEING A DEXTERITY GAM John Roy Price, Manhasset, N .Y., assignor to Paul G. Benedum, Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,656 Int. Cl. A63h 5/00 US. Cl. 46177 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wand for use in playing a dexterity game in which players strike the wands together producing a clicking sound, the wand being straight and of circular cross section which is constant throughout the length of the wand except that at the ends the cross section may be somewhat enlarged, the wand having adjacent one end an internal cavity with a sound producing element in the cavity adapted to strike against the wall of the cavity when the wand is struck against another wand producing a secondary sound supplementing the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together. The wand may have a length of the order of one foot and a diameter of the order of one inch so that it may be easily manipulated by one hand.

The wand may have a longitudinal bore therein at one end with the sound producing element in the bore and a cap closing the end of the bore. The sound producing element may be of a length closely approximating the length of the bore so that it has no substantial endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby results virtually entirely from its striking against the side wall of the bore, or the sound producing element may be somewhat shorter than the bore so that it has both sidewise and endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby may result both from its striking against the side wall of the bore and from its striking against the end walls of the bore.

The wand may be made of non-metallic material, such, for example, as wood, with a lining of metallic material in the bore, and the sound producing element may be made of metallic material, the cap being adhesively applied to the end of the wand to close the bore. The transverse dimension of the sound producing element is substantially less than that of the bore or lining, preferably less than half that of the bore or lining.

This invention relates to a wand for use in playing a dexterity game. It relates particularly to a wand used in a game in which players strike the wands together producing a clicking sound. The game may be played by two players seated opposite each other or by four players seated as at the four sides of a rectangle. In playing the game the players may be seated cross-legged on the floor. Each player may have two wands, and the players rhythmically strike the wands together, a player perhaps first striking together his two wands and then striking a wand of another player. In a variation of the game the wands may be passed among the players while maintaining the rhythm. However, the present invention does not relate to the details of playing the game but to the structure of the wand.

As above indicated, two of the wands when struck together produce a clicking sound and the game is played so that such sounds are produced rhythmically. I have provided a wand which I believe to be entirely novel and which when struck against another wand produces a secondary sound supplementing the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together. The secondary sound accentuates and enhances the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together and greatly increases the enjoyment of the game.

In one aspect of my invention I provide a wand for use in playing a dexterity game in which players strike the wands together producing a clicking sound, the wand being straight and of circular cross section which is con stant throughout the length of the wand except at the ends where the cross section is somewhat enlarged, the wand having adjacent one end an internal cavity with a sound producing element in the cavity adapted to strike against the wall of the cavity when the wand is struck against another wand producing a secondary sound supplementing the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together. Whether or not the ends of the wand are enlarged, the wand is straight and is preferably of a length of the order of one foot and of circular cross section of a diameter of the order of one inch so that the wand is easily manipulated by one hand.

I prefer to provide a longitudinal bore in the Wand at one end thereof with a sound producing element in the bore and a cap closing the end of the bore, the sound producing element being adapted to strike against the wall of the bore when the wand is struck against another wand producing a secondary sound supplementing the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together. The sound producing element is preferably elongated and may be of a length closely approximating the length of the bore so that it has no substantial endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby results virtually entirely from its striking against the side wall of the bore. Alternatively the sound producing element may be somewhat shorter than the bore so that it has both side- Wise and endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby may result both from its striking against the side wall of the bore and from its striking against the end walls of the bore.

The wand may be made of non-metallic material with a lining of metallic material in the bore, and the sound producing element may be made of metallic material. The wand may be made of wood with the cap adhesively ap plied to the end thereof. The transverse dimension of the sound producing element is substantially less than that of the bore or lining, preferably less than half that of the bore or lining.

'Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of certain present preferred embodiments thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown certain present preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in plan and partly in axial cross section through a wand for use in playing a dexterity game constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary axial cross-sectional view like the upper portion of FIG. 1 showing a modified construction.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, there is shown a wand for use in playing a dexterity game, the wand illustrated being made of wood; however, any other suitable material may be employed. The wand is straight as shown in FIG. 1 and of circular cross section as shown in FIG. 2. In the form illustrated the cross section of the wand is constant throughout its length except at the ends where the cross section is somewhat enlarged. The enlarged ends have the twofold function of imparting heft to the wand and obviating slipping of the wand endwise out of the grasp of the player. The body of the wand is designated 2, the upper enlarged end is designated 3 and the lower enlarged end is designated 4. At the upper end 3 of the wand a cap is adhesively applied. Prior to application of the cap 5 the upper end of the body 2 of the wand is centrally longitudinally bored to provide therein a bore of cavity 6. Fitted into the bore 6 is a lining 7 of metallic material such as steel although any other material may be employed to produce a sound of desired characteristics when struck by the sound producing element presently to be described.

Disposed within the lining 7 in the bore 6 is a sound producing element 8 which is also. selected for the character of sound desired to be produced. In the form shown the sound producing element 8 is also made of steel and is of a length closely approximating the length of the bore so that it has no substantial endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby results virtually entirely from its striking against the side wall of the bore which in the form shown is covered by the lining 7 so that the sound producing element 8 strikes the lining 7. When the cap 5 is applied it closes the bore and the lining. The length of the element 8 is very slightly less than the distance between the bottom 9 of the bore and the inner face 10 of the cap 5 so that the sound producing element 8 is not subject to binding and is free to move transversely in the bore although not to any substantial extent longitudinally.

The form of FIG. 3 diiiers from that of FIG. 1 only in that the sound producing element is substantially shorter than the bore so that it has both sidewise and endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby may result both from its striking against the sidewall of the bore and from its striking against the end walls of the bore. The end walls of the bore or cavity in the wand if desired by faced with metal or any other desired sound producing material. The elements of FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as are applied to the corresponding elements of FIG. 1 but each with a prime aflixed.

The players may select wands of the type shown in FIG. 1 or wands of the type shown in FIG. 3 depending upon the character of the sound which they wish to be produced when wands are struck together. When wands as shown in FIG. 3 are used the striking together of the wands may be accompanied by a secondary motion designed to move the sound producing element 8' longitudinally to cause it to strike against either the bottom 9' of the bore or the inner face 10 of the cap 5'. By proper manipulation a staccato sound may be produced. Using wands of the form of FIG. 1 the primary sound may be the clicking sound produced by striking wands together and a secondary sound occurring slightly after the primary sound may be the striking of the element 8 against the lining 7. If wands of the type shown in FIG. 3 are employed there may be a tertiary sound produced by longitudinal movement of the sound producing element 8. The more dexterity a player acquires the greater is the variety of sounds which may be pro duced by variations in the manipulation of the Wand.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodiments of the inventon it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied.

I claim:

1. A wand for use in playing a dexterity game in which players strike the wands together producing a clicking sound, the wand being elongated and straight and of circular cross section about its longitudinal axis, said cross section being constant throughout the length of the wand except at the ends where the cross section is enlarged, the wand having a longitudinal bore therein at one end with a sound producing element in the bore and a cap closing the end of the bore, the sound producing element being adapted to strike against the Wall of the bore when the wand is struck against another wand producing a secondary sound supplementing the clicking sound produced by striking the wands together, the sound producing element being elongated and of a length closely approximating the length of the bore so that it has no substantial endwise movement in the bore and the sound produced thereby results virtually entirely from its striking against the side wall of the bore.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,137,651 11/1938 Larrabee 46193 2,197,096 4/1940 Cyr 46l93 2,268,684 1/1942 Zadek 46193 2,618,899 11/1952 Nudelman 46-193 FOREIGN PATENTS 578,539 7/1946 England. 1,287,775 2/1962 France.

ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

